Life Situation: Age 30, Single, 0 children, in Denver, $0 debt, no car and loving it
Gross Salary/Wages: $100,000/yr + 2% raise per year + 10% Bonus/yr, new job
Individual amounts of each Pre-tax deductions
401k 4% work match - $20,0000 (S&P 500 Index Funds Black Rock) only cheap funds available at work,
IRA - $20,0000 (Vanguard TD Fund)
Current expenses: Total yearly expenditures (2017): ~$23,000
Item Average/M over 12Month Std(±%)
Apartment $600
Recreation $99
Health/Fit $225
Clothes $21
Phone Bill $50
Transporta $132
Food/Groc $675
Other $278
Average Total $2,080 22
Currently rent a room out of house since it’s dirt cheap.
All health insurance is covered by my work.
Bank:
Checking/Debit: ~ $300
Savings (Emergency) Wells Fargo (yuck!) <1%: $5000
High Yield Savings (APY: 1.5%) Barclay’s: $28,000
Total NW including Retirement: ~$73,000 :(
Liabilities:
* $0 liabilities. Paid off all my student debt.
* Three credit cards with $40,000 limit total and just use it to buy small things and pay it off immediately.
Would like to be FI in 15 years.
Specific Question(s):
1) I would like to buy rental property in 5-7 years, would it be wiser to stick my cash savings in a 5 year CD or do stocks?
2) I live in downtown Denver, HCOL. Are my expenses optimized?
3) Does my allocation look ok? I want to invest aggressively but also want to save for property.
4) Family has gotten on me about buying a house. But look at my freaking expense for renting. The average rent in my area is $1400/month. I’m paying $600/month saving and investing the difference. I feel like I could ride this out for a while until I decide to do rental property. In other words, I’m in no rush.
Any recommendations are welcome. Thank you.